Kids and Clothes

From the moment my kids could point, they wanted to pick out their own clothes.

The Boy was always excellent at selecting an outfit. He had an eye for color and could match like nobody's business. I recall the time the ex had tried to dress The Boy. He complained that the child started throwing the mother of all fits the second he tried to put clothes on him. The ex also marvelled at how I managed to dress the child each day if this was how he behaved.

I took one look at The Boy and told the ex, "No wonder he's throwing a fit. He doesn't match. Did you let him pick his outfit out?" The ex scoffed. How could a mere baby pick and choose and outfit? And one that matched? I took the poor thing and removed the offending clothing, we walked over to the closet and I let him point out what he wanted. He cooed happily and was quickly dressed. Simple. The ex had learned a lesson that day.

The Girl needed more guidance with her clothing. She thought matching meant wearing one item of each color. Her outfits were loud, to say the least. So, with her, I'd select two outfits and would put them out for her to choose from. We were both happy with this arrangement. I didn't let the ex dress her because he thought that since The Boy picked perfectly fine outfits that The Girl would too.

Did I mention that my ex also dressed as if he were not only blind, but blind drunk and in the dark? Yeah. I had to teach him that plaid and stripes do not go together, I don't care if both contain the color blue.

Now The Girl is a budding fashionista. If she could, she'd dress as if every day were a black tie affair. She's a little princess. I'm teaching her now about makeup application. You don't want to see the kabuki mask she put on herself when I gave her some extra shadows and blush. I'm also teaching her that jeans and a tee? Are a good thing. And I'm teaching her to love the hair she has. She's always felt a bit like an odd duck with her dark blonde hair. But she's the one who gets the most compliments on her hair.

The Boy? He's still well dressed. His clothes are almost always neat and in good condition. I don't know how he manages to keep them so well. He doesn't mind shopping so much-- as long as it's for him. He also doesn't mind dressing up-- as long as it isn't too often. His hair is always rumpled, but I told him that that's fashionable and he's ok with it. Seriously. He was upset about it before that. Yet he never remembers to wipe his mouth after lunch, and crumbs and smears will be found on his face. I don't get it either.

Me? I live in jeans and t-shirts. I hate dressing up, but love how I look when I do. After more than 20 years of fighting with my hair, I've just let it be as wild and crazy as it wants. And it works. I'm addicted to makeup, shoes and bags. I could happily live in Macys. From the time I could point, my mother let me pick out my own outfits. And I always matched.